Rhiannon Walsh, like millions of others, had heard about the alien invasion in New York. And, like millions of others, heard about it being stopped by some superhero group called "the Avengers". She wasn't sure what to think of it all, given she wasn't one to judge the fact that things got a whole lot weirder. There'd no doubt be countless people who would believe the whole alien invasion thing was probably some kind of elaborate joke, that these Avengers weren't real. But there were probably a lot of people arguing that it all did happen―the people of New York were probably going to give the best arguments on the matter―given the fact that Captain America, America's golden boy, was there saving people and fighting off what looked like aliens.

But it had been two years since what happened in New York. Though it'd get brought up occasionally, it wasn't a hot topic anymore.

The world had gone back to a more...boring state of mind.

-0-0-0-0-

"Do you have anything fun planned today?" One of Rhiannon's closest friends, Marian, was looking at her with a hint of mischief in her blue eyes. "You can't tell me you don't have anything planned?"

"I do," Rhiannon exclaimed, "it's just none of the things you like."

Marian Olivier was not only Rhiannon's closest friends, but the one who always made the bad decisions. Marian found enjoyment in being reckless, doing things no one in their right mind would find fun. Rhiannon couldn't recall how many times she had to get her friend out of bad situations because she took it a step too far.

"You're getting more boring the more I see you, Rhi," Marian groaned. "Is that why you're single? 'Cause you're unbearably boring."

Rhiannon snorted. "I doubt that's why I'm single," she muttered. "I had a boyfriend, Mar. Remember Cal?"

Marian rolled her eyes. "Cal was a douchebag."

"You thought all my boyfriends were douchebags."

"That is true." Marian threw a mischievous smile Rhiannon's way before fixing her red hair. "But I hated Cal the most. I don't get what you saw in him."

"I don't either."

After making sure her hair was fixed, Marion turned to look at Rhiannon head-on. The two were at Rhiannon's house, with Rhiannon getting ready to go exercising. Marian, on the other hand, had dropped by to see if her friend would be up for a little―what Marian dubbed―"man hunting". Marian was the wild one, and long-term relationships just weren't her thing.

"I still think you should come with me," Marian exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You could go exercise any other time."

Rhiannon threw her friend a pointed look. "Unlike you, I'm not going to waste my time with flings."

Sighing in defeat, the friends hugged before Marian went on her way.

-0-0-0-0-

There were three reasons why Rhiannon loved jogging: it helped her think, it helped her relax, and (only on rare occasions) it gave her the chance to practice other things. Rhiannon had certain areas in the places she jogged where she had a little more privacy, and in those little moments, she'd allow herself to...unwind certain things she normally wouldn't do around others.

But during that jog, Rhiannon wasn't really in the mood for that unwinding. She just wanted a little moment to think.

She wanted to think about her job, her family, her friends―she wanted to think about everything.

Rhiannon liked to go over all the things her parents taught her when she was little, how she interacted with her siblings growing up, how she made certain friends and what caused some of them to fall apart.

Nothing in this life is permanent. You appreciate what you have in that moment, then learn to let it go when its time is finished. That was what Rhiannon's mother would say to her; it was something that Rhiannon found to be very fascinating. Rhiannon's mother, Nadya, came from a relatively large Armenian family, and she grew up in very hard times. Rhiannon knew that a lot of her mother's advice was from her own experience growing up, so Rhiannon made sure to pay extra close attention and do her best to keep what she'd been told at heart.

Taking a moment to stop, Rhiannon placed her hands on her hips while she caught her breath.

I've probably been at it for about fifteen minutes, she thought. I don't know why I'm so out-of-breath; maybe I haven't been pushing myself hard enough.

Sighing, Rhiannon ran a hand over her eyes, as if trying to will whatever was plaguing her away.

Taking calming breaths, Rhiannon tried preparing herself, to push herself further. She'd normally be able to jog for at least two miles (from her house and back) before she started feeling a little tired. It might not be much, but it was to her.

Suck it up and go, she thought. You've been doing this for a while, this shouldn't be so difficult.

Taking one last breath, Rhiannon started running again. In that moment, Rhiannon was going to (at least for the time being) put aside why she stopped after only fifteen minutes, it didn't seem all that important. But, maybe, there was something about it that was important.

(A/N):

Heya, everyone! Hopefully you all liked the first chapter of this story. Let me know what you think of it. Constructive criticism is important!

Nothing in the MCU belongs to me. All I own are my characters and the username I go by.

In case there's even a hint of confusion in this chapter, here's a bit of an explanation: Rhiannon is (hopefully it was obvious in this chapter) a pretty responsible person; Marian's her best friend, she's the wild one; Rhiannon's mother is Armenian; it would seem that Rhiannon has a bit of a secret; she lives in Washington D.C.; she's got some siblings (I'll go into detail on them later); she likes jogging, it can help her sort stuff out, etc., etc., etc.; I'll be sure to have Rhiannon's background looked into more in future updates. Does that clear up any confusion? I hope it does.

As for when she's going to meet people like Steve or Sam (well...this is a Sam/OFC story, so...Rhiannon's going to meet him eventually), it probably―probably, mind you―won't be for a bit.

Anyway, yes, this is a Sam Wilson/OFC story. I noticed there are pretty much no stories on him, which is a little sad. Sam's one of my favorite MCU characters (I've never read the comics, so I don't entirely know what he's like in those), and I thought he could use a little appreciation. But that's just me being a derpy nerd/fangirl on the matter.

Moving on!

For this story, I won't update all that frequently. I'll try to, but just keep in mind that new chapters probably won't be popping up as often as you'd like. Also! In about a week, maybe a little more, I'll be going on a bit of a vacation for a week and a half/two weeks, so if I don't update any new chapters and you're wondering what's going on, I just told you what's going to happen. But I will try and have a couple chapters up by the time I leave.

OK, I'll wrap this up.

Let me know if there's anything I can improve on.

Many blessings,

Indigo Callahan